1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display, and more particularly, it relates to an image display capable of displaying stereoscopic images.
The priority applications Nos. JP2005-159373 and JP2005-159342 upon which this patent application is based are hereby incorporated by reference.
2. Description of the Background Art
A three-dimensional image display capable of displaying three-dimensional stereoscopic images is known in general, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2857429, for example.
The aforementioned Japanese Patent No. 2857429 discloses a three-dimensional image display capable of forming opening portions and blocking portions of prescribed shapes on prescribed positions of an electronic parallax barrier in a striped manner substantially perpendicularly to a line segment connecting the left and right eyes of an observer with each other by controlling the electronic parallax barrier arranged on a side of an image display surface closer to the observer with control means such as a microcomputer. In the three-dimensional image display disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2857429, the opening portions of the electronic parallax barrier are so formed as to introduce left- and right-eye images into the left and right eyes of the observer respectively, in order to provide three-dimensional images to the observer.
On the other hand, a stereoscopic image display capable of proposing stereoscopic images to an observer by arranging a barrier provided with slitlike opening portions and blocking portions on the side of a display panel closer to the observer is proposed in general. The structure of a conventional stereoscopic image display 500 is now described with reference to FIG. 20.
As shown in FIG. 20, the conventional stereoscopic image display 50 comprises a display panel 501 for displaying images, a polarizing plate 502 arranged on a side of the display panel 501 closer to an observer 510 and a barrier 503 provided on a side of the polarizing plate 502 closer to the observer 510.
The display panel 501 has a glass substrate 501a. Further, the display panel 501 is alternately provided with pixel trains 501b and 501c extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to a line segment connecting the left and right eyes 510a and 510b of the observer 510 with each other (direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 20). The pixel trains 501b and 501c display images L10 and R10 to be observed by the left and right eyes 510a and 510b of the observer 510 respectively.
The barrier 503 is provided with blocking portions 503a for blocking light emitted from the display panel 501 and opening portions 503b for transmitting the light emitted from the display panel 501. The blocking portions 503a and the opening portions 503b are alternately provided to extend in the direction substantially perpendicular to the line segment connecting the left and right eyes 510a and 510b of the observer 510 with each other (direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 20), similarly to the pixel trains 501b and 501c of the display panel 501. The blocking portions 503a and the opening portions 503b are provided in correspondence to groups of the pixel trains 501b and 501c of the display panel 501.
A stereoscopic image display method of the conventional stereoscopic image display 500 is now described with reference to FIG. 20.
When the observer 510 observes the display panel 501 through the opening portions 503b of the barrier 503 in the conventional stereoscopic image display 500, the images L10 displayed on the pixel trains 501b of the display panel 501 are introduced into the left eye 510a of the observer 510, while the images R10 displayed on the pixel trains 501c of the display panel 501 are introduced into the right eye 510b of the observer 510. Thus, the observer 510 can observe stereoscopic images.
However, the conventional stereoscopic image display 500 shown in FIG. 20 provides stereoscopic images to the observer 510 only in vertical arrangement, for example, and it is difficult to provide stereoscopic images to the observer 510 in horizontal arrangement, for example. The three-dimensional image display according to the aforementioned Japanese Patent No. 2857429 also has a problem similar to that of the conventional stereoscopic image display 500 shown in FIG. 20.